


A pinch of salt

by Andromeda612



Series: Into the saltverse [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, Fluff, Gen, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Lila salt, M/M, Nathaniel Screams At Lila, Protective Nathaniel Kurtzberg, The Kids Have Brain Cells, and I love it, class sugar, they are good friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:55:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29566446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andromeda612/pseuds/Andromeda612
Summary: The aftermath of the strange akuma from another universe and what the canon!selves learned from their salt versions.
Relationships: Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Marc Anciel & Alix Kubdel & Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Marc Anciel & Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Marc Anciel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Classmates
Series: Into the saltverse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1997449
Comments: 12
Kudos: 93
Collections: MarcNath Fics!





	A pinch of salt

**Author's Note:**

> This is the sequel from NMN day 2, hope you like it.  
> Also remember this is not the end of this mini series, there is still one moer story!  
> I apologize for any mistake, English is not my first language qwq

To say that the students of Miss Bustier class— counting the teacher herself— were relieved when the magic cure was casted and their other selves were gone would be an understatement. 

That experience was annoying, frustrating and even a little scary, those clones of themselves just wouldn't shut up about Lila! 

Lila this, Lila that, Lila, Lila, Lila, Lila, Lila! 

Is not like they don’t like her, she is their friend— or at least they think so yet— but the way the others talked about her, and more important how they would defend her if you didn’t agree in the slightest with whatever she said or did, it was almost like they were a cult and Lila their leader or their goddess… which was a very disturbing comparison but they couldn’t think in another way, their behavior was in itself disturbing. 

And if Lila was the goddess then Marinette was the devil, if they weren’t talking about how amazing their Lila was— with stories that were too stupid to be taken seriously to be honest— they were talking about how awful and horrible their Marinette was— with stories equally stupid and without solid proof— and what was worst, they were trying to convince them _their_ Marinette was also a bad person, the audacity! 

All in all, it was frustrating and disturbing in equal parts, what made them shiver, however, was how easy it was for their other selves to throw their Marinette under the bus. 

Because they did listen to some of the bullshit they were saying, more specifically they heard how all of that started and were very unnerved to learn that what the other Lila told them— and what made them to just agree their Marinette was a bully and deserved to be treated that horrible way— was pretty much the same their Lila told them some weeks ago, with the difference they stopped to think, because what the brunette told them was so unlike Marinette, they searched for proof, even talked seriously with Lila to know if she wasn’t confused or something and it turned out all was a misunderstanding from Lila’s part— or more like she look herself cornered because she was not expecting such faith in the goodie two shoes, but they don’t know it— but their other selves? They believed Lila blindly, never questioned her, never stopped to think about how unlike their supposed friend that behavior was, not even the other Alya, who bragged about how a wonderful journalist she was, tried to look more into it, to get at the bottom of the issue, they just took Lila’s word as a matter of fact, completely forgetting Marinette is not that kind of person, forgetting how much she had done for them. 

Thinking about all that, how absurd the stories the other Lila claimed were, how the other selves were more like a flock of sheeps or guardian dogs— depending on the situation— when it comes to their Lila, Alya starts to notice there is something off with them, something just don’t feel right and that’s when she remembers what Marinette told her the day Lila came back. 

_“She is a liar”_

That makes her mind stop short… it could be? 

Because all the awesome things the others said Lila made were stories too stupid or too good for being true, they didn’t had proof, just Lila’s statement and then… when the other Alya and the other Marinette had that fight in the classroom, the other Alya’s accusation were circumstantial at best, a matter of she saw she said, the only witness was always Lila, the other Marinette however, she defended herself with facts, she did have proof, she was logical. The more she thinks about it the more the other’s stories and claims— the other Lila’s stories and claims— seem like… lies. 

Not to mention, the first stories are just the same of what Lila has told them so far, including all the other stuff before she came back to school, and if the last claims seem like lies and nonsenses… what about the first ones? The ones they _did_ believe when their Lila told them? 

And again, a memory from that day kicks her hard… like a bucket of ice being thrown on her head. 

_“A good journalist always check their facts”_

But she hasn’t fact checked Lila’s stories, has she? No, she hasn’t, not with Ladybug, the Italian’s supposed best friend, not searching in the internet to try to find something to back up Lila’s story about Jagged Stone’s kitten or any other of her claims for that matter, heck and just now she remembers that Marinette actually knows Jagged Stone! And probably Ladybug too— at least she knows how to reach her— after all, she was the one who arranged that interview with her for her blog. If she doubted the brunette she must have her reasons. 

Her reasons! 

Marinette _tried_ to explain to her and Nino why she thought Lila was lying, but they didn’t let her, because yeah, she eavesdropping was not cool but… it was not cool for them to not listen to her side either. 

She just not listened to her best friend, she also said that she had to check her facts when it was her job to do so, she was the future journalists, she was the one who should have checked Lila’s stories, not Marinette, because even if Lila was her friend a good journalist _always_ check their facts. 

Not to mention that all this time she brushed off her friend's concerns as simply jealousy, even if that may be a factor, Marinette wouldn’t make that kind of accusations and being so insistent about it just because she was jealous… especially because she and Kagami managed to put aside their differences and their like for the same guy, they are friends now… But with Lila...

Alya groans, hiding her face in her hands, she has to apologize to Marinette but first she has to do what she should have done in the first place, fact check all of what Lila said, specially the things she posted on her blogs. 

But she is not going to do this alone, after all of what they heard and saw today it is clear this is a matter that concerns all of them, with a determined look she walks back to the school and calls her boyfriend. 

“Babe? Are you okay?” Alya smiles at hearing Nino’s voice at the other end of the call, somehow he always manages to calm her. 

“I’m fine, I’m sorry we separated during the akuma attack ” she apologizes, she was trying to get a good shot of the battle and between the chaos she lost Nino, she really doesn’t like to worry him or her beloved ones like that. 

“Is okay, babe… Is everything alright?” Nino asks, somehow noticing that his girlfriend may need to say something more. 

How Nino does that, the auburn doesn’t know, but she is glad he has this sixth sense, it makes it easier to start hard conversations. “Actually… I think we need to talk… all of us, I'll be at our classroom… can you come please? And if you see the others please tell them to come too, there are some things we need to discuss” 

“Sure thing, see you later… and don’t worry, everything will be okay” He assures her softly. The girl smiles and thanks him before ending the call. 

When she arrives to the school she immediately goes to her classroom, once inside she makes a group chat will all her classmates except Lila and Marinette, they need to discuss the matter by their own before facing them, she asks them to come to their classroom as soon as possible, that they need to talk about something very important, almost immediately she receives answers from some of them, saying they will be there soon. 

After ten minutes or so her friends started to arrive, all of them with the same thoughtful expression she is sure she has, she also notices that some of them— Juleka and Rose— have a worried expression… maybe they could talk about it later. 

“Okay, the only people missing are Ivan, Mylene and Nathaniel, because I don’t think Chloe and Sabrina would show up…” 

“Talk for yourself Cesaire” Alya is interrupted by Chloe’s voice, she and Sabrina are standing at the door frame, the other people in the room are watching them surprised. 

The blonde just looks at them with disinterest and flicks her hair to the side. “Is obvious what this meeting is for and believe me, I’m eager to end Rossi’s bullshit” and with that she and Sabrina walk in and take their usual seats. 

The bespectacled girl doesn’t even try to retort to her, there are more important matters to attend. 

“By the way someone know about our missing people, Nathaniel hasn’t even replied to the chat group” 

“Ivan and Mylene are on their way, they ran a little far during the akuma attack” Rose answers as she sees her phone, looking at the message Mylene sent her. 

“I run into Nathaniel and Marc in my way here” Alix starts “They were coming to gather their stuff from the art room, Nathaniel saw the messages and he will be here but first he wanted to walk Marc home, so it will take him a while” Before Alya could say that it was okay Rose's concerned voice is heard. 

“Is Marc okay?” She asks, besides her Juleka also looks as worried as her girlfriend. 

“Yes, he is, he looks as shaken as the rest of us for you know why but he did look fine to me, he himself assured me he was okay so don’t worry” the skater softly assures her friends, the couple visibly relax at hearing that, so that’s why they looked so worried before… 

“Something happened to Marc?” The journalist asks, also a little worried for the writer— they may not be too close but the boy is still her friend— the others— sans Chloe and Sabrina— also look up at Alix with some worry, also wondering what happened with their shy friend. 

“Kind off, is a long story but if we are discussing what I think then I'm sure we will get to it” The pink haired girl states with a bitter tone that is not missed by Alya or any other of the presents in the room. 

After another ten minutes Nathaniel finally arrives and is bombarded with questions from Alix, Rose and Juleka about Marc— even knowing he is okay they can’t help wanting to know how exactly he is right now— that helps to raise the worry in some of the presents, but Alix said they would eventually talk about it. 

“Well, everybody is here, Nino, is Adrien ready on the video call?” Alya addresses her boyfriend as she stands in front of Miss Busstier’s desk. 

“I’m ready Alya” Adrien answers from Nino’s phone. With that Alya clears her throat and addresses everybody. 

“I’m sure you have an idea about why we are here” Everybody nod, making known their agreement, after the day they had is not a wonder what they are discussing. 

“Fine, so we all agree that all of what the other us told us is pure bullshit?” At this everybody agrees again, with more enthusiasm. 

“Yeah, I mean all of the things they said are so unlike Marinette, they are supposed to be their friends, how is that neither of them thought that it was strange?” Kim exclaims what everybody is thinking. 

“Not to mention all of the stories they told us, from what their Marinette supposedly did to their Lila and all the things the Lila from that universe did are too absurd to be taken seriously, the majority has holes in them, contradict each other or are plainly nonsense” Max states besides him as he adjust his glasses. 

“Yeah, and also when the other Alya and the other Marinette were discussing, the other version of Alya just screamed all those things Marinette supposedly did but what she said was just a bunch of accusations that couldn’t be proven and the other Marinette defend herself pretty well, she even gave facts and evidence, Ivan and I thought about it a lot and we came to the conclusion that the others were wrong about their Marinette.” Mylene chimes in. 

Alya nods, good all of them are on the same page. 

“So can we agree that all of what we heard today from the other us were lies?” She inquires just to be sure. 

Everybody, again, agrees. 

“Okay, now that we are at the same page I would like to bring up something I just noticed and I would like to know if I’m the only one” The blogger takes a breath, this part may be a little… uncomfortable. 

“Have any of you noticed the things the other Lila told them, the things that made them give their backs on their Marinette… are the same things our Lila told us?”

That’s it, she let go the bomb. 

She looks at her friends and classmates, all of them have a thoughtful expression and slowly, one by one, they change that expression for one of realization. Juleka, of all people, is the first one to collect herself and talk. 

“You are right, Lila complained with us about the same things but… at the end it was all misunderstanding from her part and taking on account what Mylene already said that must be the case in that other universe… so why is it different in them?” she inquires out loud what everybody is thinking. 

That leaves all of them wondering— even Chloe and Sabrina seem thoughtful about it— indeed, what was different? Fortunately for them Alya has a theory. 

“I think what makes the difference between them and us is that just like Kim said we are Marinette’s friends and we know what Lila said is nothing like her, at all. But them… they didn’t think twice to abandon her, they never questioned what Lila said to them, they didn’t stop to think how strange all of it was but _we_ did, we wondered about the matter until getting at the bottom of it, we questioned what Lila said to us, they believed her blindly, that’s why it was different for them” Alya states, that seems to relieve them. 

“But right now that’s not the point, the point is… we agree that all what we heard was a lie but… what about those first claims? The ones that our Lila told us too, those were lies too? And if they were what else was a lie?” Now that makes all of them stop to really think about it. 

In fact… if those were lies, who says is not the same with them, who says their Lila didn’t lie to them too?

“B-but why would Lila lie to us?” Rose asks in a shivering tone, no one liked the idea of one of their friends lying to them in such a way. Especially to make another of their friends look bad.

Meanwhile Adrien is quiet, fidgeting in his spot in his room, his own experience with his other self was in one word terrifying. The guy’s attitude was unnerving to say the least, blaming his Marinette about her situation with their class even when she was the real victim, giving his back to her. Not to mention his behavior towards his Ladybug, which was creepy and so so wrong! And when he tried to talk to him about it he just snapped at him and screamed about them being soulmates or something like that, he felt stunned— and scared if he was being totally honest— even the other Plagg seemed really uncomfortable and disappointed with the other version of himself. 

That experience led him to think about confessing he already knew Lila was a liar, after Marinette’s expulsion and after today it is for the best. He will talk once the others figure it out, because he is sure as hell there is no way they would let this pass like the other times. 

“Ugh, isn’t it obvious? That brat is an attention seeker, she just wanted to be the center of the universe and all of you were so stupid to give her the attention she so wanted” Chloe states a little harshly. 

“Thanks for the income Chloe” Alya deadpans, she adjusts her glasses and retakes the word. “Whatever Lila’s reasons were the thing is: we need to make sure if she was or not lying to us, for that I’ll like to have all your help, we will make a list of all the things Lila told us she did, all the people she claims to know and we will do what at least I should have done before, we will fact check if anything of what she said is true, can I have your help guys?” The auburn asks her friends, who indemitaly agree to help and soon enough all of them— even Chloe and Sabrina— are with their cellphones out, Rose and Mylene making a list of all of Lila’s stories and the rest fact checking. 

After a good fifteen minutes all of the people in that classroom are pretty much angry— Adrien in fact is wary of any dark butterflies— Lila really lied to them! And the more they think about it the more they realize she was not just the new girls nervous and wanting attention and impress them, they bought her lunch, did her work because she claimed something that made it impossible to her, they remember every time they made accomodations for her, that she didn’t had to make any effort, she was taking advantage of them! 

“I can’t believe it! That… that liar two faces!” Alya barks as she clenches her phone tightly, looking that there is absolutely nothing to back up Lila’s stories, all the class is mad at her but also mad at themselves because after all they were the ones who didn’t questioned her in that regard, they were the ones that didn’t check if what she said was true, because even if she was their friend some of the things she said should have been taken with caution, _that_ was on them. 

The journalist for her part— and Nino too— is already thinking about how to apologize to Marinette, she told her but she didn’t listen, that was her fault and she is sure as hell she will fix that, but for now they still need to decide how to proceed from here with both, Marinette and Lila. 

“Damn and our other selves are fucking stupid if they became a flock of mindless sheeps because of her! Specially if they believed the lies about Marinette being a bully” Alix rants out loud, that’s a thing everybody can agree with and that makes them feel a little better about the situation, yes they believed some of the stuff their Lila told but they questioned her when it was most important: when she was lying about Marinette, about her friend, at least they can say they are not the fake friends their other selves seem to be. 

After some seconds of contemplation Alix adds, “I’m sorry buddy” she is addressing Nathaniel “But if we are like that in that universe then I’m glad the other Marc cut ties with the other us, he is better that way” she sincerely confess in a soft tone, almost an apologetic one, the redhead just sighs with a resigned expression. 

“No, you are right, he is better without them and if that Marc is anything like ours then it was their lost, not his” the artists replies softly with a tiny smile on his mouth, the other members of the art club are fast to agree and say that they hope the other Marc is doing okay, which reminds Alya about… 

“Right, Alix, you said that you would explain what happened later because it had to do with Lila, could you tell us now please?” The bespectacled girl asks, the others in the room turn to see at the skater, also curious about what happened with Marc and what it has to do with Lila. 

Alix visible tenses, and she is not the only one; Nathaniel, Juleka and Rose also seem to get disgusted— Alya is sure that if Marinette was there she would also look angry— whatever that happened must have been serious. 

Before speaking the pink haired girl shares a look with her best friend, at Nathaniel’s nod she starts to explain. 

“Well… we were in the art room when…” she explains everything that happened, from the moment Marc entered the room to the akuma attack, most of the people outside the club were also indignant and angry— angrier than before— Marc is also their friend— some are closer to the writer than others but still— they all know him well enough to know that he had a very bad experience that afternoon, others know him well enough to know said experience can be harder because of his anxiety, they don’t like it. 

“Is Marc really okay?” Ivan asks almost instantly as Alix ends the anecdote, is not a secret for anybody Ivan has grown closer to the comic duo— bonding over comics, art and music— and that he has a soft spot for the writer. Nathaniel smiles softly at his friend. 

“Don’t worry, I can assure you he is okay” that is enough to calm down the big teen and the rest of their friends. 

“Well… with that resolved there is still one more thing we need to figure it out before deciding what to do with Lila” Alya starts, with the attention of the rest in her, she continues. “Why did Lila try to make Marinette look bad? And if all was a lie, I bet she had something to do with Marinette’s expulsion!” 

Again, everybody is thoughtful, in fact, what reasons Lila has to be against Marinette? While everybody is thinking, Adrien decides this is the moment to speak. 

“Lila is against Marinette because she knew she was lying” Adrien states matter-of-factly, which it is but the others don’t know it yet. 

The people in the classroom immediately turn to see him, the place is silent. 

“Why are you so sure?” Alya asks, every single person in the room noticed Adrien said that as a solid statement and not as a guess.

The model takes a deep breath, here comes the hard part. “Because I know for a fact she doesn’t like to be outed as a liar” before anyone could ask what he meant he raises a hand— which is kind of hard to see for the people at the back of the classroom from Nino’s phone— making them keep quiet. “I have something to confess, the only thing I ask is for you to hear me and listen to my reasons before saying anything, please. I know I made a mistake and I’m willing to accept my responsibility, but please just listen why I acted the way I did” 

The room is very silent— even Chloe seems thoughtful about Adrien said— they don’t know what he is talking about or what was his mistake but they are willing to listen until he is done speaking, after all they saw first handed how not listen can be the source of a huge mess, besides Adrien is their friend, listen is the least they can do. 

“Is okay dude, we will listen we promise” Nino assures his best friend, Adrien smiles at him and takes another breath. 

“You see…” and he tells them everything. From how did he discovered about Lila lying— and yes, they tried to confront him but keep their promise and listened to his reasons— he told hem how Lila end up akumatized the day she ‘came back’ because he called her out— even if he was nicer than Marinette about it— he explained how he genuinely thought Lila was just like those tabloids about celebrities, about how he really thought the best way to address the issue was taking the high road and wait until Lila cornered herself with her lies or until the rest of them also discovered she was lyings, that this is how he was taught how to deal with this kind of thing, that he truly believed Lila was inoffensive… that was until she got Marinette expelled— whit that he also confirmed their theory about the incident— until then he understood Lila was more than a tabloid, that she doesn't care about who she hurts, that his advice was not a good one. 

He also explained how he made a deal with her so she would bring Marinette back and leave her alone, though it is not like she respects the deal that much. 

When he is done the room is filled with silence once again, even Chloe stays quiet. After what feels like forever for the model, Nino finally breaks the silence. 

“Well… that’s really messed up dude” Adrien looks down, guilty but ready to face whatever that comes to him “But… I guess we, or at least I get why you reacted that way, I mean you were sheltered most of your life, you really didn’t know any better” the dj states in an assuring way, the rest can agree with him, yeah they are a little mad at Adrien for not telling them sooner about Lila, but Nino is right, the model didn’t know better, heck! The guy still has trouble with some social cues!

Besides he made a deal with the devil to bring Marinette back, that gives him some points. 

“What you did is still pretty bad but taking in account your limited experience in the real world as well as with social cues is not a wonder you would choose a, please forgive my word, naïve course of action” Max states as he adjusts his glasses. 

The others make known their agreement, Alya decides to take the word. 

“I think I talk for everyone when I say that even if we are a little angry at you…” Adrien can’t help but flinch a little at that, but Alya tone even if firm is gentle “We understand why you didn’t say anything at the time, you really thought it was the right thing to do, however you were wrong, that’s fine we all make mistakes but next time make sure to ask someone else about this kind of things'' the reporter ends watching her friend like a mother explaining her toddler why what they did was wrong, the model just breaths relieved, this ended better than he thought and he is willing to do better. 

“Yeah, I promise I will” he vows. 

With Lila’s motives clear— and boy! How a person could be so petty to hold a grudge over something as stupid as being discovered as a liar?! — there is just one thing pending. 

“Well, now that we have all of that clear… what the hell are we doing with Rossi?” Chloe asks, already tired of being with her classmates. 

“I may have an idea” Alya says and then she begins to explain her plan. 

Lila is walking with a relaxed grin on her face, after the long weekend she had she is really eager to go to class and fill the minds of her admirers with fabulous stories so they can fawn over her like the star she is. 

The last week she didn’t feel like going to school so she came up with another story about helping Prince Ali with a charity, to her mother she said the school was closed again because some teachers were akumatized again and she didn’t know how much it would take for Ladybug and Chat Noir to deakumatize them this time; with how stupid the authorities from school and how blindly her mother trusted her it was easy to have both parts convinced, so she spent the last week relaxing, thinking about what new lies she could spread to make her look good or to finally get Marinette to be an outcast, which wasn’t going as planned, those idiotic classmates of hers have more faith in the baker then she thought, but she could come up with something, she was sure. 

However, her calm vacation was interrupted on Friday when a crazy akuma from another universe attacked, she was minding her own business when a flash blinded her, next thing she knew there was a clone of her at her side. 

At first she freaked out a little— her other self did too— but soon enough they managed to collect themselves and just talk, it was kind of annoying to be honest, her other self was so...prepotent, she acted like she was the better version of herself! — As if! she is obviously better— however, she learned some useful things from her clone. 

For example: she learned the classmates from that universe are more gullible, more stupid and a lot less loyal than hers— maybe all the option above— after all, she told the exact same lies the other Lila told to her classmates to make them see Marinette as the bad guy but they didn’t fall for it, they defended her, she even had to back off and say it as a misunderstanding from her part or otherwise it could have backfired bad on her face. 

She has to admit she felt jealous of her other self, she had all her classmates tied around her little pinky, they believed her blindly, with no questions, she on the other hand… she has their admiration but they are not where she wants them to be: totally under her control. 

And most important, the other Lila already fulfilled her threat against her Marinette, but everyt ime she tries to seed doubt in her dumb classmates she fails! It’s not fair, why couldn’t she have the brainless sheeps instead? 

And not get started with how much the other Lila loved to brag about her success and to remind her of her failure, which was even more annoying taking into account that they told the same lies, why was different with her? 

But well… that didn’t matter, if in that universe she managed to make Marinette a pariah then she can do it in her universe, specially after hearing about the other lies her other self told, they were stupid even for her ears— it seemed the other Lila grew reckless about her stories once she had all of them under her spell— if those dumbasses still believed her after that long and with that tales, then she totally has opportunity with her classmates, after all, how different they can be from the ones of the other universe? She just needs to put in a little more effort. 

Another important thing she learned about was the possible threats for her, people in the other universe that tried to go against her and call her out on her lies. Like Adrien’s cousin, Felix, but he lives in London and he never talked to them for real— that stunt the day they sent those videos doesn’t count— so she is not that concerned about him, but that fencer friend of Adrien, Juleka’s brother and the missy looking boy friend of Nathaniel are in her list now, they are her closest threats besides Marinette, she will think about what to do with them, she already has some ideas for Kagami and Marc, Luka will be the most difficult but there is nothing she couldn’t do with some well made sob stories. 

Maybe if she manages to take them down then going for Marinette will be easier. 

Lila snaps out her thoughts as she enters the school, she grins already thinking about the looks of admiration she would get and the annoyed expression in Marinette’s face. She walks with her head high towards her classroom where— to her glee— all of her classmates, sans Marinette, are already there. 

“Hello everybody” She greets them as cheerfully as she always does, however she doesn’t get the expected greet, she doesn’t get a greet at all. 

Confused by the lack of response Lila tries one more time, louder. 

“Hello everybody!” This time she gets the rest to look at her but again the warm greeting never came, most of them just look at her with a bored expression and return to their own business, the only respond she gets is a small wave from Rose— which still seems uncharacteristically forced and dull for the pinky girl— and a fast ‘Morning, Lila’ from Alya. 

She tries to pass over the shock, maybe they are busy or fawning over something else, she just needs to spread her awesome stories and soon she would be the center of attention again, yes, that’s it. 

“Oh you wouldn't believe what happened to me last week, those were such exciting days!” She announces bright and loud for everyone to hear but again, they don’t even bat an eye at her, didn’t they listen? But she made sure to be clear and loud! 

Meanwhile the others are making a huge effort to not roll their eyes or break the façade, now that they know the truth, hearing her is incredibly annoying, is such an irony she said they wouldn't believe her, ha! 

* * *

_“So we all agree, we will act as nothing happened but we won’t give Lila the attention she wants, she will be just one more of the crowd, we won’t listen or comment about any of her stories until she decides to talk bad about Marinette or anyone else, when she does so we will confront her… let’s see how much can the liar resist”_

* * *

Lila has to restrain a scowl, it doesn't matter, she just needs to take Alya’s attention, with the pseudo journalist’s focus on her stories it would be just a matter of seconds before the rest are also listening to her as it should be, besides she can get Alya to post her awesome feats in one of her— significantly famous— blogs. 

“Hey Alya, I bet you couldn’t guess who helped me and Prince Ali with the charity, it was such a surprise having them to help with the fundraising, it was lovely!” She says dreamily, waiting for Alya to jump at the opportunity for a new scoop. 

Lila keeps waiting but Alya seems too busy on her phone, she is not even talking to Nino who is also busy with his music. 

“Alya!” the liar all but yelps at the auburn, the journalist finally looks at her. “Oh sorry Lila, didn’t notice you” Lila uses all her will power to no frown in annoyance, this is just a bad day, that’s all. 

“Oh, is okay I bet you were distracted” Lila assures her and just now Alya can notice how hollow and fake her sweet tone sounds. 

“So… do you need something?” she asks, the Italian takes the opportunity. 

“Well, it's just a certain someone gave me and Prince Ali a surprise last week while we were working on our charity. I just thought it would be an interesting story for your blog” the Italian says with fake modesty. The journalist gives her a forced smile— which Lila doesn’t notice, too focused on being the center of attention again— and politely rejects her. 

“Oh, well for you Lila, maybe you can tell me later I’m busy right now” and with that she returns her eyes to her phone. 

Lila is speechless, later? Tell her later?! Since when Alya doesn’t jump for a new scoop when she sees one? She should be asking for details, wanting to write a whole new article about her for her stupid blog! Lila tries to talk to Alya again but the bespectacled girl puts on her earphones. 

The brunette growls under her breath, fine! If Alya wants things this way perfect, she will come up with a punishment later. 

She walks up the stairs and sees Mylene and Alix talking animatedly with Rose and Juleka, perfect, Mylene and Rose are the sweetest girls in class, they always listen with adoration and she is sure they won’t brush her off, Juleka will do whatever Rose wants and Alix sure would listen if her other friends do. 

“Hi girls!” She greets them, this time they have the decency to greet her back— except for Alix, but Lila doesn’t pay enough attention to notice— though they don’t have the same energy as always, not biggie, soon they will be very excited because of her new story. 

“You won’t believe who came last week to help with the charity's fundraising!” She starts, but the other girls are already in their previous conversation. 

What the hell is happening today? 

“Girls?” She tries but they keep talking. 

“Hey!” she snaps, the four look at her, Mylene, Rose and Juleka have neutral expressions, Alix has a visible frown in her face. 

“Oh, Lila you are still here” Juleka states simply, Lila can’t help but feel offended, what is wrong with all of them? 

“Y-yeah, uhm.. I was telling you that I…” Lila is interrupted by Mylene of all people. 

“U-uh… “ She starts hesitant, after discovering what she knows now Lila seems pretty intimidating for the little actress, but she reminds herself to be brave, she has her friends and at least in this universe Lila doesn’t hold any power over them, she looks at the Italian, more confident, not afraid. “I’m sorry Lila, but we were already talking about something else, is important. It has to do with Kitty section, maybe later you can tell us but for now we are kind of busy, hope you understand” the girl with colored hair lets herself feel proud for talking clearly and firmly. 

Lila is taken back. Busy? BUSY?! They are never busy for her! And what happened with the Mylene that is a pushover, she should be stammering apologies for ignoring her and just let her talk, she should shut up as always and listen! 

She can leave things like this! 

“B-but I…” again she is interrupted. 

“But nothing, Lila. You heard her, they are already discussing something important, whatever story you have to tell can wait” Alix brush her off in a cold tone, is just now that Lila notices the skater is clearly pissed off, why she doesn’t know and she doesn’t want to know either, so for now she backs off and goes to her seat. 

When she sits down it takes her exactly five entire minutes to notice her desk mate is sitting with Ivan. Is strange but is not like she cares, Nathaniel never was one of her most enthusiastic fans, he even rejected her offer about meeting a Japanese manga editor! Something about already being published and didn’t have the need of a new editor. 

And speaking of his stupid comic… she knows that trashy comic about the dumb heroes and those pathetic self inserts of his and that lame writer is really important for the redhead— that’s why she lied about the manga editor in the first place, it was supposed to catch his attention so he would listen to her like the others— maybe she failed with the editor thing but the comic is still her best tool to wrap the artist around her finger like everybody else. 

She could do it with Alya and her blog, with Mylene and Ivan with charities, with Rose with Prince Ali and Nino with his movies, she also lied about the others’ interest to keep their attention and buy their trust, just like she told Marinette; people will listen if they hear what they want. 

So she could make sure to also have Nathaniel on her corner… and maybe she can get rid of Marc in the way. Some well placed lies and ‘constructive critics’ should be enough, people just look for their own interest, Nathaniel’s relationship with the boy must be centered just in their silly partnership, it should be easy to break. 

Watching closely, she notices that Nathaniel is actually working on the comic. Perfect. 

The writer is the weakest obstacle in her list, so she decided to go after him first and she likes to work fast, right now she has an opening, it would be dumb of her to no take it, wouldn’t it?

She inclines a little in her seat, to have a better look, she prepares her sweet face and what she will say. 

“Nathaniel, are you working on your comic? That 's so cool!” She exclaims in an excited tone but the redhead doesn't even acknowledge her presence. This time she doesn’t bother to hide her scowl— no one is watching her anyways— this has to be a joke! 

“Nathaniel?” She tries again but nothing, she looks at Ivan, the big teen sensing someone watching him turns around and looks at Lila, then he looks at his friend and then back to Lila, he just shrugs and returns his attention to whatever he was doing. Lila wants to scream, what is happening today?!

She tries again but tapping the redhead on the shoulder. “Nathaniel?” 

This time she gets a reaction, however, is not what she was looking for. 

“I’m busy!” The artist spats, not even bothering to turn around and look at her. 

Even when all they agreed to act normal, Alix and Nathaniel made perfectly clear that after the art room incident they couldn’t bring themselves to act normal with Lila, not after what Marc had to go through and not with the thought that Lila could try the same with him in this universe, the rest were very understanding, they know how much the shy boy means to them, so they decide that instead the two of them will give Lila the cold shoulder. 

Lila for her part— and being totally oblivious at the real situation— now knows the artist can hear her and that’s all she needs. 

“Oh I’m sorry, is just I couldn’t help notice you working on your comic! You know I’ve read it and is awesome, your artwork is amazing! Actually... “ she makes a pause, Nathaniel is still ignoring her, she frowns but is okay, she is sure she will catch his attention with this. “I’m friends with a very talented writer, they have worked with big names in DC comics, even Marvel! They have wanted to make their own original work for some time now but they don’t have an artist because no one convinced them but… I showed them your comic and they were fascinated, I’m sure they would be glad to meet you and who knows? Maybe this can be a boost to your career as an artist, he could even help you with your current comic!” At this Nathaniel stops short his hand, Lila smirks believing she finally has his attention. 

The redhead for his part has a dread feeling that he knows where this is going and he doesn’t like it, he uses all his will to not get her fury show in his voice. 

“No, I'm fine with my and _Marc’s_ comic and we don’t need help with it, I don’t need another writer” Nathaniel says in a calm tone, too calm. Besides him Ivan sneakily looks at him, worried about his friend because the fact Lila is too centered on her and her goals to notice Nathaniel is not thrilled in the slightest doesn’t mean he doesn’t notice. The girls on Rose and Juleka's desk are also watching warily, Alix in particular is clutching the desk with such force her knuckles are getting white. 

That is not the answer Lila was expecting. Is okay, if her other self could she too.

“But Nathaniel! This is a huge opportunity! My friend is very talented and I’m sure this could give you a name in the industry and…” For the third time that day she is interrupted. 

“Marc is a talented writer too and we want to make a name of our own _together_ , so my answer is still no '' The redhead states firm and clear, hoping that would be enough to make Lila to back off. 

The Italian feels her patience getting thinner, she clenches her fists, this is more hard than she thought but she still has some cards under her sleeve. 

“Oh… about that…” She says in a fake shy tone, Nathaniel clenches his jaw, she better shut the fuck up or God help him! Alix is in the same state as the artist and the girls and Ivan wonder if they should look for butterflies at how things are going. 

“I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to sound rude but…” ‘ _If you don’t want to sound rude then shut up’_ , is what everybody that is listening to the interaction is thinking.

“Is just, as I said I’ve been reading the comic and even though the art is amazing the story… it feels amateur” The teens from the art club freeze in shock, she didn’t! Totally oblivious at the tension Lila keeps talking. 

“I mean the story is okay but I've seen far better ones, my friend has a lot of experience and I’m saying this as your friend but the gap between the art and the writing in your comic is huge, you should be with a writer as talented as you, Nathaniel. It's like your talent is being restrained” An outsider could see the interaction like a worried girl saying a hurtful but necessary truth to her friend, however who knows the truth just sees a harpy testing a kind boy’s patience. 

Nathaniel feels his blood boiling with each word, his grip on his pencil is so strong that Ivan fears he would break the pencil in two. He bites his tongue, he doesn’t need a scene so early in the morning nor an akuma, he needs to calm down or else…

“Besides, do you think he is the kind of person who would face the world of a comic creator? The fame?” 

“WHAT?” he couldn’t help the yelp, Lila is not thinking about...? 

“I mean I haven’t interacted with him, with how shy he is! It's like he is scared even of his own shadow and I’ve also heard he has a problem with anxiety” That made Nathaniel and the rest of the art club tense, their blood boiling like hell, she didn’t use the A word! 

“Believe me, anxiety is the worst enemy in an artistic career, anxious people are destined to fail, to crumble down, I’ve seen so much people falling because of this, believe me is sad but is what experience has taught me” 

Lies, lies, lies, LIES. ALL OF IT. IS BULLSHIT! 

Nathaniel is shaking with rage, if working with Marc has taught him something is that people with anxiety are of the strongest, even more if they pursue a career in which they can be easily judged, when they share their talent, anxiety is an obstacle but people is stronger, people are warriors, people are winners and Marc is definitely not exception. 

“Just think about it, is it really a person that is often doubting themselves a partner or a burden? I know it sounds horrible but I care about you because you are my friend, I’m pretty sure you has seen it yourself, Do you really think that Marc can…” 

“ENOUGH” Nathaniel screams standing up and slamming his hands on the desk, he ignores the itch in them from the force he used, he turns to glare at Lila, who steps back at seeing the intensity of those cyan eyes. 

That was the last straw for Nathaniel, he doesn’t care if he is throwing Alya’s plan through the window, he is not letting the harpy in front of him talk about his boyfriend like that, in his face. 

The scream took everybody's attention, now all of the people in the classroom are watching them— even Chloe and Sabrina are watching— but Nathaniel doesn’t care, at the other side of their desks Rose, Juleka and Alix also seem at nothing to explode. 

“Don’t you dare to talk about him like that, you don’t know a shit about him or about anxiety for that matter, don’t talk about our comic like you knew something about creating stories… at least good stories that’s it” he says looking at Lila deadly in the eyes, all the rage he feels projecting in his voice, in his posture— his friends outside the art club are sure they have never seen Nathaniel looking so intimidating— before Lila could asks what he meant by that, Nathaniel continues with his tirade. 

“Don’t talk about his talent like you knew what you are talking about, Marc is an awesome writer, ask anyone and they would say it but if you want no biased opinions then ask the hundreds of fans that read our comic, look at the good review we have received, all of them prizing my art and his writing, you couldn’t see a good and decent story if it bite you in the face!” 

Before Lila could retort or even play victim Nathaniel slams his hands against her desk, making her jump— though she would never admit she felt intimidated by Nathaniel— Nathaniel pulls his bangs aside showing his two eyes, two cyan gems that are burning her skull and sending sharp daggers at her, again Lila feels the need to step back. 

“Now listen carefully, Rossi, because I’m not repeating myself! Leave me alone, don’t stick your nose in what is not of your business and most important leave Marc alone, I don’t want you to talk about him, I don’t want you to talk to him or be near him, you are not even allowed to say his name! You are going to leave us alone, otherwise I swear an akuma coming after you will be the least of your problems! Got it?” The cold and raged tone on Nathaniel’s voice is enough to send chills into everybody’s spines and to make Lila know that he is being deadly serious. 

For once Lila is petrified in fear, she is sure not even Marinette— or any of her previous victims for that matter— has ever looked at her with such hate and fury. The only she can do is nod with a terrified— and for once genuine— expression. 

“Good” Nathaniel spats and sits down again, like nothing happened. 

The rest are still shocked, they have never seen Nathaniel like that, it was stunning— and pretty scary too— the glare in his eyes and his voice, they almost felt bad for Lila. Almost. 

Alix is the first one to collect herself, she just snorts and goes to take her seat. She feels very proud of her best friend and is ready to tear off Lila if she dares to bother him or Marc again. 

When the rest also get over the shock they all feel awed by what they saw, one by one they just go back into their things and wait for Miss Bustier to arrive. Lila for her part simply flops into her chair, still astonished about what just happened. 

Miss Bustier finally arrives at the classroom and just a minute after the bell rings, Marinette manages to arrive too, she falls into the floor and quickly goes to her seat. 

After that the morning passes uneventfully until lunch time. Nathaniel walks out the classroom like he didn’t scare the shit out of everyone that morning and walks directly towards Mrs. Mendeleiev’s classroom, surely going for Marc. 

When Lila and the others— Marinette included— arrive at the locker room she decides to play the waterfalls, at some point during the classes she decided that if Nathaniel won’t cooperate with her, fine! He will be on his list too and she will drag him with his so dear writer. 

“H-hey guys? C-can we talk?” Lila is the perfect image of a scared girl, some days before they could have believed her and made sure she was okay, but now? Now they just can feel annoyed. 

“Sure, what 's up?” Alya says uninterested, the rest wear bored expressions. Lila is still very confused at why everybody is acting like that today. Neither of them remembered she was threatened by Nathaniel just some hours ago?! 

“I-is just… I think Nathaniel hates me now and I don’t feel very comfortable around him and…” Kim’s teasing voice cuts her off. 

“Ha! Hate you? Damn I’m surprised he didn’t attract an akuma, congratulations Lila, you made one of the quietest guys in class snap out loud” the rest agree with the athlete and to Lila’s annoyance some of them even have the nerve to laugh. 

She stamps her feet on the floor. “Guys! This is serious!” 

“You bet! I swear I never saw Nathaniel that angry before, it gives me the chills” Nino exclaims while shaking a little to emphasize his words. 

“What? Bu-but you are not going to say something about it?” 

Rose tilts her head to the side. “Uh? What do you want us to say, Lila?” she asks innocently. The brunette has to restrain the urge to shriek, seriously?! 

“BUT” she doesn't get to finish, because again she is interrupted. 

“Look, Rossi, if you want us to get mad at Nathaniel for snap the way he did then wait seated, even if he exaggerated at his reaction he was in all his right to be furious at you, you just insulted Marc and then had the nerve to talk about his anxiety! You should be grateful I’m better than him in controlling myself or else” Alix all but barks at her, Lila looks at her classmates for support but the only she gets are looks of disgust. 

She was the bad guy now??? 

“What? But I didn’t” 

“Yes, you did” ugh! How many times is she going to be interrupted? 

What surprises her the most is that it was Alya this time, usually she would be the first one to jump in her defense and demand Nathaniel to apologize, but she is taking his side! And what is worse, Marinette has a shit eating smirk she is so tempted to slap off her face. Before she could reply Alya speaks. 

“The things you said about Marc were rude and you seriously talked about his anxiety? Nathaniel is right, you don’t even know the guy, what gives you the right to talk about him, especially about something so delicate?” Alya basically lectures her, Lila has to stop herself from rolling her eyes, this day has been a nightmare! 

Before she could come up with an excuse the others just walk past her to the cafeteria. She growls under her breath, something happened, she doesn't know what or when, but she knows something changed, it has to be that! She will get to the bottom of this. 

The day goes relatively calm, at the cafeteria her classmates were distributed in different tables, Alix and Nathaniel were anywhere to be seen and she had to buy her own lunch and eat alone. 

When they returned to classes she received some glares from the teens from the art club and was ignored by the rest. 

Once their final class is done she immediately walks to the front of the classroom as soon as Miss Butier leaves the room. 

“Guys wait! We need to talk!” She stops them from leaving, though Chloe ignores her and she and Sabrina walk out the place, it’s not like she cares about them anyways. 

“About what exactly, Lila?” Max inquiries as he adjusts his glasses, all of the people remaining in the room are watching her. 

Lila just looks at them with disbelief. 

“About today! All of you have been acting strange with me!” she complains, any of them bat an eye. 

“What are you talking about, Lila?” Ivan asks, raising an eyebrow. 

“W-well you have been treating me differently!” Lila uses her pitiful girl voice, hoping to gain some sympathy, but she is not fooling anyone, not anymore. 

“How so? We don’t know what you are talking about, Lila” Juleka is who talks this time, some irony sneaking into her voice, not like Lila notices but the tall girl still receives a poke from Rose. 

Lila for once doesn’t know how to answer; ‘ _You have been treating me like any other student and didn’t leave what you were doing just to hear me bragging about my fake accomplishments_ ’ but she can’t say that. 

Looking for some sort of sympathy or inspiration for an excuse she lands her eyes on Marinette, who seems as confused as she feels but also smug, well, even if the brat doesn’t have to do with whatever that happened with her classmates she can always take the opportunity to seed some doubt in their minds about the designer. 

“W-wait… is.. is this because of Marinette, isn’t it? She really convinced you guys that I'm a liar, just like she said when she threatened me in the bathroom!” She cries and hides her face in her hands, waiting for the screams to Marinette demanding an explanation, but the screams never came— the only one was a ‘WHAT?!’ from Marinette— the class was pretty silent actually. 

They are stunned because of what she said? Well that would certainly make up a little for the day she had. 

She takes a little peak between her fingers, just to freeze in her spot at what she sees, there are definitely angry glares from her classmates but all of them are directed at _her_. 

“Care to repeat yourself, Lila? I think we didn’t hear right” Alya says in a clearly angry tone while crossing her arms. 

“See! This is what I’m talking about! You have been so rude to me, I bet Marinette somehow convinced you I’m lying but I’m not, she is who is lying, she has been manipulating all of you!” She starts her pitiful act again, sobbing like she was a poor and scared girl. 

Meanwhile the others can feel their blood boiling. 

“I didn’t say anything because I was afraid you wouldn’t believe me but Marinette is not who you think she is!” Lila keeps crying about how awful Marinette is, how she treats her badly and how threatened her in the bathroom the day she came back from Achu. THE HYPOCRISY! 

Marinette keeps quiet during all her tirade, during a very needed juice date with Kagami the designer ranted with her about her situation and how Adrien had to do a deal with the liar to bring her back to school, Kagami was pissed but if she is good in something— besides swords— is to control her emotions— most of the time, Oni-Chan is still a stain in her book— and she advised her that to deal with a person like Lila she needs to be cold headed and calm, that’s why she reminds quiet, calming herself down before defending herself and putting Lila in her place. 

Though, she doesn’t need to. 

Once Lila is done with her sobbing act the others just look at her bored, the Italian doesn’t know how to react, what’s with those faces? This is the part where they should be screaming at Marinette and/or consoling her. 

Alya just looks at her up and down and then sighs. 

“Well, this means Max wins the bet” She states as she and the others— except for Marinette— hand the genius some money. 

Lila is definitely not understanding what the hell is happening, Marinette also looks very lost about all of this. 

“B-but… I-I uh…” She stutters, her classmates just look at her really tired. 

“Cut the crap Lila, we know you are a liar, you are not fooling anyone” Kim says as he and Max stand up to leave. 

Lila just freezes, this can’t be happening! 

“No, don’t you see? It's just like Marinette said it would be if I didn’t play along with her! S-she…” 

“Lila, we know the truth, we fact checked all of what you said to us, Jagged Stone has never owned a cat and your story has so many flaws on it that I felt ashamed I ever believed it” Alya starts, the rest continue. 

“Prince Ali doesn’t do environmental charities and he has never heard about you” 

“A sprained wrist and all the other disabilities you claim to have like allergies don’t work like you say, also you claimed to be suffering about too many things that is impossible you could have done the other things you said you did, not to mention your stories contradict themselves”

“Is impossible for you to know all the famous people you said because either they are super private, are dead or have never been in any place in which you would have seen them” 

“A diplomat's works is not how you describe your mom’s, if anything she should be fired if she really works like you said” 

With every lie revealed Lila gets paler. _How_ did this happen? When she finally gets over the shock she changes her scared face to a bitter scowl. 

“So.. you discovered me and what? Took you long enough!” She all but barks at them, Marinette is shocked, they discovered her? while the others… they would have been shocked at the change of mood on the brunette but after what they learned about her it doesn’t surprise them, not at all. 

“You are right, Lila. It took us more time than it should and that is in us, but we know the truth, you can’t manipulate us any longer and don’t expect to get away with this, even if you can fool Damocles and Miss Bustier we beat you in number and we have been doing some research, you have been doing lots of fails in school alone and that can’t stay unpunished, we will talk with Bustier and Damocles and if that doesn’t work we will go to the school board but in any case your game ends here, you lost” 

Alya states firm, looking at Lila deadly in the eyes, she hates to admit it but she knows a lost battle and she just _lost._

She glares at them with hate until her eyes land on Adrien, well if she is going to be dragged then she will drag that dumb pushover with her, he at least still have some utitlity to her. 

“Oh but you know you could have discovered me sooner if someone just talked before?” She sneers bitterly, to her surprise all of them just roll their eyes. 

“Save it Lila. They already know I knew, I apologized and I’m already working on doing better and gain their trust back, you can’t damage things more” Adrien states stoic and almost cold to her, this time the brunette doesn’t bother to restrain the shriek or the tantrum she is throwing right now. 

“If you think this is over then you are wrong! When I’m done you will all come back crawling to my feet, you will desire to have never messed up with me!” She yells and then storms out the classroom. 

The room is silent for some seconds before Marinette asks what she has been wondering since Alya revealed they knew. 

“How did you guys discover she was a liar?” 

Everybody shares a look and again is her best friend who speaks for them. 

“After the incident with our other selves from that horrible universe we realized that we never fact checked what Lila said to us… even if I told you that was a good journalist’s job” the bespectacled girls says, with guilt filling her voice, it was her mistake and she is ready to make it right. 

“Also, we all noticed the very first lies the others told us, the ones that their Lila told that made them abandon their Marinette are the same Lila told us some time ago” Marinette pauses processing what she heard… Lila told them those lies too? But… 

“W-wait…” She starts astonished, they never mention it to her “You guys never…” 

“We never tell you because we never believed Lila in the first place, dudette” Nino says softly, Marinette looks more surprised for a moment, but that quickly transforms in a soft expression, she knew she could trust her friends. 

“The things she said were so unlike you, we knew something must have been wrong” Mylene says as she and Ivan get closer to her desks, as well as the people who sit on the back. 

“We questioned it, we defended you and we were ready to investigate and get to the bottom of the matter until Lila backed off and said it was a misunderstanding” Alya continues, Marinette can feel a warm feeling burning in her chest, she couldn’t be happier even if she tried. 

“That’s why we didn’t tell you, we didn’t see any case in doing that” Nathaniel states, looking more relaxed now that Lila was gone. 

“By the way… when we noticed the two Lilas told the same things we grew suspicious, then I remembered what you told me and Nino about her being a liar and I knew something very wrong was happening, so we met here and talked about it, in short we all agreed something was off, we fact checked and discover the truth, Adrien also told us he knew and the deal he made with Lila to bring you back” Marinette smiles at her friends, they really defended her against Lila, she has never felt so relieved in her life, it was like a huge weight was lifted from her shoulders. 

“We decided to act normal but without giving Lila the attention she wanted until she decided to play the card of blaming you, we even made a bet on how much it would take her, as you see Max won” Nino explains. 

“My calculations were correct, as always” The short boy exclaims proudly, winning some laughs from the other teens. 

“Nath and I decided to give her the cold shoulder, after what happened that day with Marc we couldn’t just look at her and not be mad, also you totally lost how Nath went all feral with her in the morning, that was gold!” The skater exclaims proudly, Nathaniel blushes a little but he has a satisfied smile on his lips. 

Marinette blinks and then smirks. “So that’s why Lila was watching him like he killed her cat” that gains more laughter from her friends, this time Nathaniel lets himself feel proud, that witch had it coming for messing up with Marc. 

“You have to give me details guys, I bet I know why he snapped and I want to at least have a mental image of it” She says playfully, the teens from the art club laugh and promise to tell her during the club. 

“Also, Marinette…” Alya retakes her attention. “We all would like to apologize, as I said we should have discovered this sooner, and me in particular, I shouldn’t have brushed off your concerns, do you think you can forgive us? Forgive me?” The rest of the teens show their agreement and also offer some sort of apology to the noirette. 

Marinette softens her face and offers a bright smile to them. “I won’t lie, it sucked that you didn’t take me seriously or that you got mad at me for a lie” At this the people that was at the cafeteria the day Lila came back look down ashamed “but… guys you defend me when she tried to poison your minds about me, you believed in me and didn’t follow her blindly, Lila told me she would turn all of you against me…” 

“SHE WHAT?” Alya and Adrien scream at the same time, they didn’t know about that. 

“Yeah, the threat in the bathroom was actually her saying that she would take all of you away if I didn’t line up” The designer raises a hand to stop any interruption “But I had faith in you guys… and you proved me right, of course I forgive you!” She states sincerely and sweetly, the other teens sigh relieved and cheer. 

“Group hug!” Kim shouts out and next thing they know they are all engulfed in a group hug, all feeling relieved and happy for being free from the liar’s claws. 

After the hug everybody went on their way, the girls from the art club walked together to room 33, Nathaniel decided to wait for Marc who still had a class before being free from school. 

Right now the girls are telling Marinette about Nathaniel’s snap in the morning while they wait for the comic duo to arrive. 

“Oh my god! I will pay to see that!” Marinette wheezes clutching her stomach, she really wishes she could have seen that, Lila deserved it after targeting Marc that way. 

“Marc knows?” She asks, she is sure he would be touched and flattered about Nathaniel defending him. 

Alix is who answers her. “Yeah, Nathaniel and I ate lunch with him and I told him everything, you should have seen their faces, they were so red!” 

Just like summoning them, the comic duo walk in the room. 

“Hey, what is so funny?” Nathaniel asks as he and Marc walk to their friends. 

“Oh, we were telling Marinette about how you put Lila in her place this mor…” Alix is interrupted by Rose's excited squeal. 

“OH MY GOSH! THIS IS WHY I THINK???!” The others look at her questioning, the little singer just point to Marc and Nathaniel’s hands… which are intertwined, the girls look at them and then at the comic duo and jus now they notice they are both blushing— Marc in a deeper shade than Nathaniel— with shy and happy smiles on their faces. 

The girls are shocked for a moment before blissful expressions make their way into their faces. 

“You guys are really together?” Alix gasps at them. 

They boys share a look and then look back at their friend, they nod and raise their intertwined hands. The girls squeal and soon the boys found themselves in a group hug by their friends, all of them congratulating them, saying how happy they are for them, when they break the embrace Marinette is the one who asks what all of them are wondering. 

“How did this happen?” her voice is filled with excitement, she thought it would take longer for them to _finally_ stop dancing around each other. 

“Well…” Nathaniel starts blushing “After the incident with our other selves I realized that the idea of Marc ever thinking I would just abandon him like that scared me more than anything, more than a rejection” he is looking at Marc while saying this, then he directs his eyes to his friends “And I wanted to make sure he wouldn’t doubt that, so I confessed, and lucky me, he felt the same” he smiles brighter at the last part and kisses Marc’s hand, making him blush even more, the girls can’t help but squeal again at that. 

After that Mr. Carracci enters the room again— he was attending some important matter with Principal Damocles— noticing the duo’s hands he smiles and also gives them his congratulations, then they all go to their respective workplaces. 

Before Marinette could start with her project— a new hat— Rose taps her shoulder, when she turns to look at her the blonde just points to Marc and Nathaniel’s table, Alix and Juleka are also watching. 

At first sight nothing seems different, they are seated together, very close— that was nothing new, they always did— but what is new is the fact that they can see the boys are holding hands under the table, then Nathaniel looks at Marc and kisses his temple, Marc returns the look and rests his head against the redhead’s shoulder. 

The girls feel like melting, those two are so cute together, they are happy that some good things came from that awful day. 

At least things in their universe are fine.


End file.
